Balancing Act of Serial Entrepreneurship

Ashley Cross, November 8, 2016

As a multi-business owner, I battle to keep my sanity. My businesses offer solutions to different groups, so I interact with a wide range of people and personalities. Also, my ventures are in different industries, so I have to possess a business acumen across several industries. It is truly a delicate balancing act in running several businesses at the same time.

I definitely owe my entrepreneurial spirit to my parents. My father worked an eight-to-five job, but always rose to the supervisory level wherever he worked. He was a hard worker, and I get my work ethic from him. My mother was a contractor with Mecklenburg County, and growing up, I watched her bid on contracts and navigate the Human Resources world. So, I’d say I owe my motivation to my mother.

I began my path to entrepreneurship as a social worker in the mental health industry. My plan was to first establish myself within the mental health community and from there begin to launch business ventures. I worked for local area providers throughout the Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Charlotte areas. I performed child investigations for Forsyth County Department of Social Services for about three-and-a-half years. I realized that if I wanted to do something different I would need to obtain a clinical license. After working for a mental health company in Winston-Salem and transferring to Charlotte, I stepped out on my own — 100% independent.

Today, I own and operate ASAP Tax Express, a tax preparation agency. I also own three other ventures: Odyssey Health Group, ASAP Management Group, and Flawless Hair. Going from having a corporate job to being an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that everything is on you. You have to earn your pay by marketing yourself, and that has given me a great admiration for entrepreneurs who make the leap. Although it can be overwhelming initially, it is more rewarding in the end.

As a multi-business owner, I wear the entrepreneur, operator, marketing director, and HR hats for all my businesses. It is challenging finding quality team members with a winning spirit. It’s difficult finding people who will buy into the company culture and want to succeed alongside the company. Fortunately, I’ve found good team members for both ASAP Tax Express and ASAP Management, where my employees work across disciplines. However, it’s still a one woman show at Odyssey Health Group. Since expanding Odyssey Health Group into the Charlotte market, I’ve met several area providers expressing interest in working for me, but it’s a process in making sure we fit each other’s needs.

I truly enjoy meeting new people, and I think CMBCC is a great resource in which to do so. Being a new member of CMBCC, I’ve found the newsletter to be a great resource. I even plan on volunteering after seeing an ad for volunteers. As you can image, I can’t commit a large amount of time, but once again, it’s a balancing act. I look forward to interacting with and learning from entrepreneurs that are both like me and different from me.

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CMBCC serves black business owners and professionals in the Charlotte region by providing education, resources and networking opportunities to our members -- in an effort to increase the economic vitality of the business community as a whole.